EFCC Challenges Sylva To Appear For Questioning Over $14.86m Allegation

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has asked former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, to appear for questioning over an alleged $14.86m fraud case after he accused the anti-graft agency of political bias.

EFCC spokesman, Dele Oyewale, said on Monday that Sylva, who was declared wanted in November 2025, should make himself available to the commission.

“He has been declared wanted; he should make himself available to the commission,” Oyewale said.

The development came shortly after Sylva announced his resignation from the All Progressives Congress, accusing the ruling party of abandoning its founding ideals and the Tinubu administration of disappointing Nigerians.

In his resignation letter, Sylva said he could no longer remain in a party whose leaders, in his view, had embraced the belief that “all is fair in politics.” He also accused the EFCC of increasingly acting as an organ of the APC rather than as a state institution.

Sylva said he was aware that leaving the APC could lead to what he described as a renewed “witch-hunt” against him and his associates, but said he was willing to take the risk.

The former governor is also facing allegations linked to an alleged plot against President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He has denied involvement in the allegations, which remain before the courts.

In May 2026, the Federal High Court in Abuja granted an interim forfeiture order covering nine properties allegedly linked to Sylva following an EFCC application.

Sylva served as Bayelsa governor from 2007 to 2012 and later became Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under former President Muhammadu Buhari.